Home / Technology / Dual Amazon HQ2s would depart from original promise of ‘full equal’ second headquarters – GeekWire

Dual Amazon HQ2s would depart from original promise of ‘full equal’ second headquarters – GeekWire


Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos talking on the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. (Economic Club of Washington, D.C. Photo / Gary Cameron)

When Jeff Bezos revealed his plans to open a second Amazon headquarters final September, he stated, “we expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters.”

The announcement kicked off one of probably the most extraordinary financial growth contests in historical past, placing cities in competitors with each other as they sought to land the 50,000 jobs and $5 billion funding Amazon that dangled in its request for proposals.

But HQ2 could not really equal Amazon’s original Seattle campus — or actually be a headquarters in any respect. Amazon plans to separate its second headquarters evenly between two cities, in response to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Monday, citing an nameless supply accustomed to the matter. Each location would get half of the 50,000 staff.

That would dimension the mini HQ2s someplace between Amazon’s 45,000-strong Seattle headquarters and the corporate’s 18 satellite tv for pc places of work in cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Amazon employs hundreds at its smaller places of work.

The pivot sparked snark from reporters and spectators who've spent greater than a yr speculating on what an inflow of 50,000 high-paid tech employees would imply for the successful metropolis.

It nonetheless isn’t clear if Amazon has honed in on two winners but, however The Journal reported Sunday the corporate was in last discussions with Northern Virginia, Dallas, and New York City. There are 20 cities within the operating for HQ2 and Amazon plans to announce the successful metropolis — or cities — by the tip of the yr.

Opening two places of work as an alternative of one second headquarters is a departure from what Amazon initially stated it had deliberate. But from the very starting, the corporate cautioned it'd take an alternate route in an oft-overlooked caveat on the finish of the HQ2 request for proposals.

“Amazon may select one or more proposals and negotiate with the parties submitting such proposals before making an award decision, or it may select no proposals and enter into no agreement,” the corporate stated.

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